They would ask me what actors I saw in the roles. I would tell them, and they’d say “Oh that’s interesting.” And that would be the end of it.
--Elmore Leonard, in 2000, on the extent of his input for Hollywood's adaptation of his novels

Sunday, February 16, 2014

James L. Cambias's "A Darkling Sea"

James Cambias has been nominated for the Nebula Award, the James Tiptree Jr. Award, and the 2001 John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer. He lives in Western Massachusetts.

A Darkling Sea is probably the most unfilmable story ever told. Most of the action takes place in the dark, and half the characters are giant lobsters without facial expression who communicate with sonar images.

That being said, if James Cameron were to call me up and say "Unfilmable? I take that as a challenge! We're making the best damned giant alien lobster movie ever! It'll have an hour of black screen with no sound but clicks and pings. It's surefire Oscar bait!" . . . well, then this is the cast I'd request.

The Humans:

Alicia Neogri: She needs an actress who can be geeky and obsessive, but also a romantic pairing for Rob Freeman, so I'll pick Natalie Portman.

Henri Kerlerec: He's a brash, self-promoting French archaeologist. Javier Bardem would be a good choice, as his part in Skyfall shows he can be utterly over-the-top when he needs to be. (My friend Jonathan Hirsch "plays" Henri on the promotional Web site www.ilmatarmission.com. Casting directors take note.)

Josef Palashnik: He's a big, taciturn Russian guy. Adam Baldwin would be good. It would also be a nice breakout part for some other actor who only plays silent menacing henchmen.

Richard Graves: He has to be able to shift between endearingly geeky about languages and borderline psychopathic. The British actor Jason Flemyng would be perfect.

Robert Freeman: Rob is an Everyman who learns to become a hero. My wife suggests Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

“Compared to a novel, a film is like an economy pizza where there are no olives, no ham, no anchovies, no mushrooms, and all you’ve got is the dough.”
--Louis de Bernières, author of Captain Corelli’s Mandolin